Insulation contractor in San Luis Obispo - comfortable rooms in older homes
D&M Santa Maria Insulation Company is an insulation contractor working in San Luis Obispo. We seal the gaps and insulate attics, crawl spaces and walls so the hot room upstairs and the cold floors in older houses even out.
Book an insulation estimate in San Luis Obispo
I go up in the attic and under the floor to see what's really there.
Request an estimateSan Luis Obispo: older homes, rooms added later
San Luis Obispo has a lot of houses that have been here a while. Near downtown we see older homes with raised wood floors over a crawl space, and farther out there are mid-century ranch houses and newer places toward the edges of the city. Plenty of them have had a room added on or a garage turned into a bedroom over the years, and that's often where the insulation stops at the old wall.
Many are rentals, so we hear from property managers here as well as owners, and the calls sound a lot like the ones we get in Arroyo Grande. Because so many attics here already hold settled, flattened or dirty insulation, the job usually starts with what's up there now, not with how much more to add.
Permits and planning an insulation job in San Luis Obispo
In San Luis Obispo, building permits come from the city's Building & Safety Division, and when a building is altered, getting that permit before work starts is the property owner's responsibility. We're licensed and fully insured, and before we schedule anything we check with the city about your address, so if they say a permit is needed, we take care of the application and set up the inspections. That can add a few steps to the calendar because the work waits on the city, which is why I'd rather ask early than late.
What moves the price here is mostly what's already in the attic or under the floor, and how much has to be cleaned out or sealed before anything new goes in. The schedule turns on that and on the permit question, and I give you your own figure once I've been up there. Houses that back onto the open space and the hills tend to get mice and rats in the attic, so droppings are one of the first things I look for. We come up from our home base in Santa Maria for these jobs, the same way we head down to Lompoc for the same kind of work.
Services in San Luis Obispo, CA
Attic insulation
Older attics here often have a few inches of settled batts, piled deep in the middle and thin at the edges where the roof comes down, which is backward. We even out the coverage all the way to the eaves and keep the eave vents clear so the attic can still breathe.
Insulation removal
When old insulation is soaked from a past roof leak or full of droppings, putting fresh material on top just buries the problem. We bag the old stuff out and clean up first, and only then put new insulation in.
Attic air sealing
Can lights, pipe holes and the attic hatch leak air in most of the older houses we open up, and insulation can't stop a draft by itself. We close those gaps first, which is what we mean by air sealing, then insulate over them.
Crawl space vapor barrier
A lot of the raised-floor houses near downtown sit over a bare dirt crawl space, and moisture from the ground can work its way into the floor framing and any insulation down there. We lay a vapor barrier over the dirt so the space stays drier and the insulation under your floor keeps doing its job.
Basement insulation
Some older houses on sloped lots have a basement or a partial lower level that stays cold and pulls heat out of the floor above it. Our basement insulation work starts with checking the walls for moisture, because insulating over a damp wall only hides it.
Retrofit insulation
Rooms added on later and garages turned into bedrooms are often the room that never feels right, because the insulation stopped where the old house ended. We look at where the addition meets the house and fill the walls and ceilings that got missed.
Get a free on-site insulation estimate in San Luis Obispo
We reply within 1 business day to set a time, and I come out to your San Luis Obispo house myself to look the job over and write the estimate. There's no pressure and no obligation, and if you go ahead, our crew does the work with me or a lead installer on site.
- Phone
- (805) 268-7108
- Location
- Santa Maria, CA 93454
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–10 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–9 PM
- Credentials
- Licensed and fully insured.
What San Luis Obispo homeowners get
We're based in Santa Maria, CA, and offer 16 insulation services across 12 service areas, San Luis Obispo among them. Free on-site estimates, and satisfaction guaranteed on every job.
- Based in
- CA
- Santa Maria
- Services
- 16
- Service areas
- 12
- Licensed and fully insured.
- Free on-site estimates.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to insulate my house in San Luis Obispo?
You might, and the city decides that for your address, so it isn't something I'll guess at over the phone. If you'd like to ask yourself, call the city's building office at (805) 781-7180 with permit questions. Either way, we check before we start and handle the application if they want one.
How far ahead do I have to book a building inspection in San Luis Obispo?
The city needs the call at least 24 hours ahead to schedule a building permit inspection. When we're handling the permit, we book it and plan the crew around it, so you usually just need someone home to let the inspector in.
How much does attic insulation cost in San Luis Obispo?
The cost comes down to what's already in your attic and how much has to be fixed before new material goes in, so I give you a number after I've been up there. Old insulation that has to come out, a lot of gaps to seal, a tight attic that's slow to work in, or ductwork that makes foam worth it all push the price up. A clean attic that only needs sealing and a top-up keeps it down.
What is the best way to insulate an older attic in San Luis Obispo?
For most older attics here, the best way is to seal the gaps first and then top up with blown-in insulation, which is loose fill blown through a hose so it settles evenly around the framing. Spray foam costs more and seals air while it insulates, so I lean toward it mainly when the ductwork runs through the attic. I'll tell you which one fits once I've seen how many inches are up there now.
What causes cold floors in older San Luis Obispo houses?
Usually it's the crawl space under a raised wood floor, with no insulation at all or with batts that have sagged and dropped out of the framing. Air coming up around pipes and vents makes it worse, so we seal those openings before we put insulation back up between the floor joists.
Do I have to leave my San Luis Obispo home during insulation work?
Usually not for blown-in insulation or air sealing, since you can stay in the house while we work in the attic or crawl space. Spray foam is the exception, because the house has to stay empty for a set re-entry time, which is how long before you, the kids and the pets can come back in. I go over that with you before the day so you can plan around it.
Call about your San Luis Obispo attic
Tell us which room bothers you most at (805) 268-7108, and I'll start my look there.